It was always you
by BOOKWORM026
Summary: Elena Gilbert is a newly graduate from medical school, she is moving to Chicago for work along with her best friend Stefan Salvatore. Will living under the same roof as him threaten to let her reveal her true feelings for him. Other characters to come (Bonnie, Caroline, Klaus, Matt, Tyler, Katherine, Damon, Alaric)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, here is a new story of none other than Stefan and Elena from the vampire diaries.**

 **I hope you enjoy it and review.**

 **I do not own any of the characters just the story idea**

 **Story plot: Elena Gilbert recently graduated from medical school and is moving to Chicago with her best friend Stefan, but will being under the same roof will make too hard to keep her feelings secret**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 _-FLASHBACK-_

' _Believe me, babe, you are going to love it here!' Matt, Elena's boyfriend, said as he smiled brightly into the computer screen. Elena and Matt had been having a long-distance relationship for the last two years, giving that Matt had graduated two years before her and had moved to Chicago for a job he had landed. Elena had recently graduated from medical school and had managed to land a residency at a prestigious hospital in Chicago, in the children wing. She had decided to move in with Matt, but she wasn't so sure, she didn't feel ready to live with Matt. So, it had been sort of a miracle when a friend from school had told her that he too would be moving from Mystic Falls to Chicago as well. Stefan was also a medical student, but his specialty was psychology, they had been good friends throughout school and they got along really well. They had been planning their move for the last month and everything was ready for the move except that Elena had not told Matt that she wouldn't be moving in with him._

' _yeah, I'm super excited for the internship. You know Stefan landed an internship there as well' she told Matt with a bit of apprehension. It wasn't that Matt didn't like Stefan, it was more that he hated him. He had this crazy idea in his head that Stefan had the hots for his girl and he wouldn't have that. 'you don't say, he just happened to apply at the same hospital in the same city as you?'_

' _Matt, come on don't start. We are just friends' Elena said getting a bit annoyed. She didn't know why Matt thought this about Stefan, he was not interested in her that way, he was just a naturally sweet guy. 'but speaking about moving and everything, I have something to tell you. There has been a change of plans' Elena paused, this was either going to end okay o very bad. It had been that lately every video call o phone call ended in a fight with them two. 'you see, I'm not going to be living with you in Chicago' she paused and looked at the screen for a bit before continuing 'it's just I found this really cheap apartment that is crazy close to the hospital and well if I moved in with you I would be on the other side of the city from the hospital, so I will rent the apartment instead' she finished, kicking herself on the inside because she had failed to mention she was going to be living with Stefan._

' _are you going to live by yourself?' Matt asked, already forming the idea in his head that this somehow involved Stefan Salvatore. 'or is Salvatore going to be your roomie?' he said that last word like it meant something more._

' _yeah, I mean, we are both going to work in the same hospital, so it will just be easier that way' she said already sensing a fight. God she was tired of always fighting, she didn't even enjoy her relationship anymore._

' _why are you barely telling me this? More importantly, why are you moving in with him? Don't you want to move in with me, be with me?' Matt had never really asked Elena if she wanted to live with him, he just kind of assumed she did._

' _well, in all honestly, no Matt. I don't think we are ready for that. I mean lately we are always fighting, and we've only been dating for about three years and two of those have been over a screen or messaging' Elena surprised herself for being so honest with Matt, usually she always gave into him mostly for fear of hurting his feelings._

' _I think this has a lot more to do with Stefan than about the long distance' Matt said raising his voice 'god Elena, you have to choose, I'm not going to sit here and let you move in with him and have you cheating on me' he yelled._

' _so, this is what it's about!? You think I'm cheating on you with Stefan!?' Elena was really angry now, she had never doubted Matt and she did have reasons to but she always chose to trust him, and now he came up with this absurd idea 'I have never doubted you and I had moments when I should have and you don't have anything to go on, and you are doubting me!? This is unbelievable!' Elena screamed into the screen, and that´s when it hit her, she couldn't be with Matt anymore not if he was doubting her about something so important._

' _Elena, I'm sorry, but you have to choose'_

' _you're asking me to choose between being with you and between being able to enjoy my job by living closer to it. Living with you was going to tire me at some point Matt, I would have to wake up extra early to make my shifts and I would always be late getting back home...'_

' _So, are you choosing him over me then?'_

' _God! Matt I'm not choosing Stefan over you! He has nothing to do with this. I'm choosing my career and the fact that you can't support me in this and that you can't trust my loyalty to the relationship.'_

' _you know what Elena fine choose you 'job' I was getting tired of you anyway' the words sounded so harsh coming from him, he had always been nice to Elena_

' _well then good thing this is over I guess' she said her voice breaking in the end 'good luck with everything Matt, I hope you find someone you don't get tired of'_

' _wait, Elena, before you go. I must tell you something. I don't want to feel guilty about this anymore' he paused and looked away from the screen 'I cheated on you this past summer'_

 _That was what broke Elena, she had never doubted him, and he took that for granted. Everything made since now, the late nights at work, the busy weekends and the short phone calls. 'take care Matt' that was all she said before she finished the video call._

 _-END OF FLASHBACK-_

'Stefan to Elena, do you copy?' Stefan said as he glanced at Elena in the passenger seat of his explorer. They were almost to their apartment and Elena had been quiet for most of the trip. She had been really upset the last couple of days and she had reason to be. She had told him everything that had happened with Matt and Stefan really hoped that he would bump into him in Chicago to beat his ass for cheating on Elena. She didn't deserve that, she deserved the best. She deserved someone amazing just like her.

'yeah, I'm sorry, I just kind of zoned out for a bit' she said looking over at Stefan with a small smile

'you don't fool me; you have to stop reliving that moment Gilbert. He doesn't deserve you wasting more time on him'

'he wasn't that bad Stefan; I mean minus the part where he cheated on me' she said as she grimaced at the window

'hey, look at the bright side, you didn't want to be with him anymore, so it was a win win situation, don't you think?

Elena sighed, she guessed he was right. Stefan had helped her figure that out last week when she had shown up at his house crying. He had done what any best friend would do, comfort her and give her ice cream. She was lucky to have such a great friend, they had grown really close throughout school and were now each other's best friend. After the breakup he had gone out of his way to help her get better and they had become even closer, and throughout that time something changed between both of them, but neither said anything afraid to ruin their friendship. 'you're right are we almost there?' she asked. They were now in the city but she didn´t really know where

'well, my GPS says we are about 5 minutes away' Stefan said as he took a left turn, this street was lined with oak trees on either side of and the houses had a modern rustic feeling to them. He liked the feeling of this block already 'looks pretty fancy here' Elena said, looking at the cozy houses on either side.

'we're here' Stefan announced as he stopped the car. He had stopped in front of a house that was colored chocolate brown and had a white gate at the entrance

'this is an apartment building?' Elena asked as she took in the beautiful home, it was a three-story home and looked quite large from the outside, so it couldn´t possibly be an apartment building

'yeah, cool right? Well actually it used to be a regular home, but they remodeled it and made into an apartment building, it only has about 4 apartments in total, so that's great right?'

'yeah, this is amazing' Elena as she started to take a box out of the Explorer

'hey, I got it, go ahead and open the apartment. We are the apartment on the third floor' Stefan said as he handed her the keys

Elena walked into the apartment building and made her way to her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER, I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER. THIS STORY IS MY SECOND ATTEMPT AT WRITING, I'M VERY NEW AT THIS BUT THE IDEA OF THESE TWO KEEPS POPPING IN MY HEAD SO I HOPE YOU KEEP REVIEWING.**

 **I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE DIARIES OR THE CHARACTERS, JUST THE STORY IDEA.**

 **CHAPTER TWO**

'Should have let her help me bring in the boxes' Stefan groaned as he tried to open the gate to the apartment, as he tried the handle one of the boxes marked "dishes" slipped from his grasp. They were the last three boxes he had to carry into the apartment and well he didn't feel like making two trips.

'Mate I got you' someone said as Stefan felt the weight of the box taken from him.

'Thanks dude, my roommate would have killed me if I trashed our dishes' Stefan replied as he took in the guy that had helped him. He was just a bit taller than Stefan, had blonde hair, blues eyes and he spoke with a British accent.

'No problem mate, I'm Nik by the way' he said as he opened the gate and walked in ahead of Stefan into the apartment building 'so you're moving into apartment four I'm guessing'

'Yeah, my friend and I are. I'm Stefan by the way' he said as they made their way up to the third floor

When they reached the landing he could hear Elena talking, this being because he left the door to the apartment open to get the rest of the boxes, he could hear Elena was on the phone.

'Matt I told you to stop bothering me, you made me choose and I did. I don't want to be with you anymore' she sounded exasperated, why couldn't Matt just leave Elena alone. He stopped and motioned Nik to stop as well.

'how many times will I have to say that Stefan has nothing to do with this? It has to do with the fact that you cheated on me, bye Matt, don't call again please' she gave a heavy sigh and Stefan guessed she had ended the call.

Nik gave him a questioning look 'mate, was your girl fighting with her ex?'

'yeah, I mean she's not my girl, but yeah that was her ex' he sighed as he continued to walk

'well apparently that chap thinks you guys are something more' Nik replied as he wiggled his eyebrows

Stefan rolled his eyes 'he's crazy, Elena and I are just best friends that's all' but Matt wasn't the first person to think that Elena and him were more than just friends, many classmates thought that they were dating, but that was only because they knew each other really well and were comfortable with each other.

He knew Elena didn't see him as nothing more than just a friend, but if he was being honest, he had liked Elena since he had seen her the first day of school in their biology class, but he had been afraid to make a move. When he finally had the guts to make a move, she had started seeing Matt. He was happy when she dated him because she seemed happy with him, but now that Matt was no longer with her he could make his move, couldn't he? No, he couldn't, she didn't feel the same way about him and that would ruin their friendship, he was not about to ruin that; they had become so close that if he lost her he didn't know what he would do.

They got to the apartment and Stefan introduced Elena to Nik and they made pleasant conversation with Nik before he left them to finish unpacking. Nik had told them that he worked down the street from where they were going to be working and also that his brother was a surgeon at the hospital as well. He had also invited them to a party he would be throwing that weekend in his apartment which was on the second floor.

'he seemed nice, I loved his accent' Elena said as she finished putting away the dishes

'yeah he seems cool'

'how many apartments are in here again?'

'four I believe, two on the first floor, one on the second and then ours' Stefan said as he finished setting up the television, 'there, we now have entertainment' he smiled at Elena.

'I'm beat' Elena sighed as she threw herself onto the couch. They had arrived at the apartment at around six and it was now nine and they were barely finishing with putting everything in its place.

'and you didn't carry anything up here, imagine me?' he replied as he made her scoot to one side of the couch and he sat down beside her

'you're right come here I will give you a message' Elena said as she turned Stefan so that he was sitting behind him with her legs wrapped around his waist. This wasn´t the first time they had done this, but it was the first time that Elena felt that electric charge she had not felt with him since she had started dating Matt. She took a small breath and put her hands on his shoulders and started to massage.

'that feels amazing' Stefan said as he closed his eyes. He had always loved her massages but today he was feeling this electric pull every time she touched him, he always felt it when she touched him, but he had learned to ignore it because she had been with Matt but now it was like his body knew and wanted him to make a move.

'there, now I don't feel so bad about letting you bring everything in' she said as she laid her head on his back. She liked how easy this was, maybe they could be more, and everything would be that easy, but she quickly stomped on that thought. She knew that he didn't want her that way so that couldn't be. She sighed a bit before she removed her legs from his waist.

They watched some television and ordered a pizza for dinner. They talked about their plans for their first week, they had coincidentally landed the same time shifts so they would go to work together and come home together. They planned on going shopping the following day for anything they had forgotten to pack. They had also agreed they would stop by Nik's party the following night seeming that they both liked the guy. Elena looked at the time and it said it was 1:00 am.

'I think we should get some sleep' she said as she stood and stretched

'yeah it's pretty late'

'we haven´t picked rooms yet' Elena realized as she noticed that their luggage was still sitting by the entrance

'I don't care really, which ever room you want to take is fine by me'

'well me too, I mean they are probably the same anyway right'

The bedrooms where across from each other, so one of them had a view of the street in the front of the house and the other had a view of a small forest area in the back that looked so nice. Looked like there was a hiking path in their backyard.

'can I have the bedroom with the view to the backyard' Elena asked. Stefan knew that she would want that room and he was not about to deny her that

'sure, go ahead' he replied as he walked over to the bags and picked hers and put them in her bedroom

'thank you, you're the best you know' she said as she hugged him by the entrance of her room. As she hugged him she felt that electric charge once more.

'I know' he said as he too wrapped his arms around her small frame. God, he could stand like that forever

'Stefan?'

'Yeah'

'thank you'

'for what' he asked puzzled

'for asking me to move with you, I mean you knew I didn't want to live Matt and I'm sure you probably wanted your own pad, but thank you'

'come on Lena, no need to thank me. I wouldn't want to live with anyone that isn't you' he didn't realize what he was doing until he had already done it, he gave her a kiss on the head. He quickly let her go 'goodnight Lena' he said quickly and walked into his room.

Elena just looked at his closed door, had he kissed her on the head? Maybe he did feel something for her after all, no she was just getting ahead of herself. Friends did that all the time right? Wondering what that meant Elena went to bed and that night was the first time she had a romantic dream that involved Stefan Salvatore, her best friend and her roommate.

It was Saturday afternoon and Elena and Stefan were on their way back from the store, when Elena´s phone rang. She looked at the caller ID sighed and let the phone keep ringing.

'Matt?' Stefan asked as he glanced at her

'yeah, I've told him to stop bothering me. I mean he ended the relationship, not me. Shouldn't he not be bothering me. He is either calling me, texting or even bothering me on social media' she let out with a groan

'well, can you blame him. I mean he had you, failed you and lost you. He now realizes what a loss that is, because well look at you' he said giving her another glance and a small smile. Hearing that from him made her heart skip a beat

'quit it that's not funny, don't make me look like a perfect girl when I'm not' she said sticking her tongue out at him. Her phone buzzed once again telling her she had a voicemail, without hearing she deleted the message.

'are you really over him?' Stefan asked afraid that she might answer that she still loved him

'to be honest, I don't think I ever really loved him, I mean he was great but there was never that pull with him, everything was really simple and easy and maybe that's why I stayed' she said as she glanced out the window 'maybe that's why I'm not taking it so hard anymore, except that I wish he would just stop bothering me'

'you know, we could do something to stop that' he paused and glanced at her

'what do you have in mind? At this point I'm willing to do anything to get him off my back'

'well, you know how he said that we had something' he said motioning with his finger 'well let's go with it, have him believe that we are together, maybe if he sees you've moved on he will too' Stefan finished not realizing what he had just done until it was done. Of course Elena wouldn't go for it, it would be too weird for her, so he kept his eyes on the road waiting for her to turn his offer down.

Elena was quiet for a little while. If she said yes, she would get Matt of her back and more importantly she would be able to do things that a girl in love does with a boy because they were going to be acting, but on the other hand if she said yes she would only end up hurt from being so close to having him and still too far. She knew she should say no, but the need to be more with him was too much.

'that's not a bad idea but are you sure you want to do that?' she asked, she didn't want him to give anything up just to help her. 'I mean that means you won't be able to date anyone until we are convinced that he has moved on and leaves me alone'

'first of all, are you crazy? Of course, I want to help you get rid of your obsessed ex, and second, who said I wanted to date? So yeah I'm sure?' he said as he parked in front of their apartment building.

'okay then, let's do it then' she said as she smiled at him

'good, then from this moment on you are my girlfriend' he said putting air quotes around girlfriend

'wait, should we tell our friends and family of what's going on, I mean they are going to see social media and will probably freak'

'but isn't that what we want, that Matt honestly believes it and if he starts asking what better that they answer honestly. I think we shouldn't tell anybody. He was really going out on limb here. He had resolved that he was going to get Elena to see him as something more than just a friend, so with this plan he was going to make her fall in love with him.

'okay then, nobody but us knows. Shake on it' she held out her hand and they did their secret handshake they had developed their freshman year.

'I believe we should start by posting a pic on Instagram' she said as she pulled out her phone 'smile' he did and instead of smiling she kissed his cheek while she closed her eyes. 'gotta make it believable' she smiled as she posted the pic.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

'So how do I look?' Elena asked as she stepped in front of Stefan. She was wearing a gray and black plaid shirt, that was unbuttoned revealing a black tank underneath; she had on black jeans. She had her long brown hair in soft curls. Stefan didn't know what to say because she looked stunning.

'you look amazing Lena' he replied with a smile

'thank you' she said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, that was a nervous habit of hers 'you don't look so bad yourself' she said as she checked him out. He was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans along with a dark gray button-down shirt with a black V-neck underneath. Elena could look at him all day long, but that would be creepy.

'see we are the perfect couple, we even match without meaning to' Stefan said with a chuckle

'hmm, you're right. This deserves another selfie don't you think?' she asked, she was enjoying being able to post picture of the both and have everyone think that he was hers.

'yeah it is' Stefan said as he took out his phone and stood behind Elena. He wrapped his arm around her waist and snapped a picture. He posted on his Instagram and his Facebook with the caption, aren't we adorable?

'that's cute' Elena said as she looked at the picture 'do you mind if I changed my messaging app profile picture, to make it more believable of course'

'no go ahead, I will do the same' Stefan said as he started to change the picture 'ready for the party?'

'yeah let's go'

They got to the party and were greeted by a cheerful Nik

'Mate! Come on in, and the lovely Elena. Come come, enjoy the festivities' he said as he led them to the kitchen for a drink

As they were walking, Stefan felt Elena stop walking next to him 'hey what's wrong?' she was looking to the other side of the living room

'you have got to be kidding me' she groaned. Stefan followed her stare and they came to a stop at a blonde with blue eyes, Matt 'of all the places in Chicago'

'hey, calm down, look at me.' He said as he grabbed Elena's chin to so that she would look at him 'this could be in our favor, have him see that we are together, and he can get the hint' he said calmly 'or if you want to leave and not deal with it, we can leave no problem'

'you're right let's do this' she said as she intertwined her hand with his and continued their walk to the kitchen

Matt had seen Elena and Stefan walking to the kitchen. He planned to confront them, he had seen their pictures and it boiled his blood that they were finally together.

Back in the kitchen Stefan asked Nik how he knew Matt

'He's best mates with a colleague from work so I guess he tagged along, kind of a bloke for my taste though' he replied, 'why do you ask mate?'

'that's Elena's ex' he said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze

'aww this must be awkward for both of you' he said as he took in their intertwined hands

'not really' Elena said 'I just don't want him to make a scene here'

'don't worry about that love, if he tries something I got Stefan's back, that bloke won't lay a hand or bother you

'thanks' she replied with a timid smile

They made small talk for a while and he had told them that they wouldn't be meeting the other two tenants of the building given that they were away for the weekend. They talked about work and they learned that Nik was an editor of a highly ranked magazine. They talked about going out the following weekend. Throughout this talk Elena and Stefan had constant touch, whether it be hand holding or him giving her a kiss on her forehead or stealing longing glances at one another, anybody would believe they were together.

'well look who's here' Matt shouted as he approached the trio, his face was blotchy, he was drunk, and he wanted to confront Elena and Stefan. He was followed by dark haired guy.

'hey there mate' Nik replied without any hint of friendliness

'not talking to you' Matt said as he glared at Nik for a second, then he turned his attention to Elena 'you look good Lena' he said slurring at the end.

'hey Matt' was all she said without meeting his eyes, she had always disliked Matt when he was drunk

'so, I see you got Stefan here to be your rebound guy, yeah?' he said turning his attention to Stefan who just put his arm around Elena.

'Matt come on, let´s go, you´re trashed' said that guy that was with him, he turned his attention to Nik 'sorry Nik, didn't know he was such a light weight'

'no problem mate just get him out of here yeah'

At hearing this Matt turned to Elena again, this time with anger in his eyes 'so tell me before I leave, are you really together?'

'Yeah' she looked at him, but couldn't hold his gaze, Elena had always been a terrible liar

'you´re lying' Matt accused, seeing right through her

'what makes you say that mate? They look pretty together and seem rather good together as well' interrupted Nik, he was really getting tired of this bloke. He had known Matt from his friend Tyler and he had never really liked him.

Matt glared at Nik 'once, again I am not talking to you, but if you say you are dating then prove it. Kiss' he said with a smirk

'what are we in high school?' Stefan questioned, he had noticed the way Elena had tensed and he knew if they did kiss Matt would know they were lying, and he would go back to bothering Elena

Before he could speak again Elena beat him to it 'fine, I mean if you want to torture yourself like that'

'it's no torture, because I've been watching you all night, and not once have I seen you guys kiss.'

'fine' Elena said. She turned to face Stefan, she knew she just had to do it, if she thought too much about it she would lose her grip. So, she quickly threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips.

Stefan was caught by surprise, but after a second all he could think was he was kissing Elena, the girl he had fallen in love since the day he met her. Her kiss was nothing like he had imagined, it was so much better. Her lips were so soft, and her kiss tasted so sweet and he swore that the moment that their lips touched he felt an electrical charge.

Elena felt no different than Stefan, she felt a charge when their lips touched and then she could taste the sweet yet minty taste that was Stefan. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, she had never felt like that when she kissed before.

The sound of Nik's voice is what made them break apart, 'so there you have it mate, that kiss seemed pretty real to me'

'fine, but Elena, I know this piece of nothing won't be able to give you what you deserve, and when you realize that I'll be there waiting for you, because you and I belong together' he finished as he gazed at Elena and took her hand in his.

Stefan grabbed his hand and squeezed until he let go of Elena, 'then I guess you'll be waiting for quite a while, because I have no plan to let her slip through my hands like you did' he said as he smirked at Matt 'Nik I think we'll leave now, thanks for the invite, we'll see you around' he said as he put his hand on Elena's lower back.

'goodbye Nik' Elena said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, she decided to ignore Matt. Given that he had kind of scared her with the we belong together thing, that seemed a bit stalker like.

Once they were back in their apartment, Elena was the first one to speak

'I am so sorry about the kiss, it seemed like the only option, and I just want to get rid of him once and for all she rambled on, thinking that he had not liked the kiss and had only gone along to help her

'hey Elena, don't worry I know it was something we had to do, I knew what we were getting into when I suggested the idea' he paused and looked at her 'good thing I'm single though, I don't think my girlfriend would like it if I had one' he finished, he was trying to calm her down.

Elena glanced at him and then got up from the couch 'you're right, I'm going to my room. See you tomorrow' she said as she walked to her bedroom. Once in her bedroom and when she was in her bed ready for bed, she lay there thinking and reliving the kiss with Stefan.

Stefan in his bedroom did the same thing, and that's when he decided that he would fight for Elena´s heart and he would make her fall in love.


End file.
